Monthly Archives: February 2014

“If exercise were a pill, it would be the most cost effective drug ever invented”

Dr Nick Cavill.

Some medically proven facts about people who partake in regular exercise….

You will have:

up to a 30% lower risk of depression

up to a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke

up to a 50% lower risk of type 2 diabetes

up to a 50% lower risk of colon cancer

up to a 20% lower risk of breast cancer

a 30% lower risk of early death

up to a 83% lower risk of osteoarthritis

up to a 68% lower risk of hip fracture

a 30% lower risk of falls (among older adults)

up to a 30% lower risk of dementia and Alzheimers

Source: NHS, Benefits of Exercise – Live Well

At Bodycare we can help! If you are looking for a friendly, professional place to exercise, where all of our members are treated as individuals, then get in touch TODAY! It’s never too late…. 01268 758181 / info@bodycarefitness.co.uk

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or to accept the responsibility for changing them.”(Denis Waitley).

At Bodycare we love this quote! Your health, your body, your fitness and your diet are all influenced by the choices you make every day. Accepting responsibility for what you eat and drink, how much exercise you take, how you manange stress and other lifestyle choices is empowering.

Don’t just accept that you’re not as fit / slim / happy or healthy as you want to be. If you genuinely feel like you want to change then ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY to put thought into action – make the changes and don’t look back!

Let us help you achieve YOUR goals! We’re here to help you make those changes and will offer you advice, support & motivation when you need it most. Get in touch today by contacting us at Bodycare Personal Fitness Club – Benfleet’s premier health & fitness club.

We are sure you have all heard lots about sugar over the past few weeks, in fact, it is by far 2014 hottest health topic and for good reason. At Bodycare we have long been aware of how influential/detrimental a product sugar is to not only our waistlines but moreover our health. The recent focus on sugar is not a momentary “trend”. It is based on well established findings of many doctors and nutritionists who have long since known the detrimental effects of excess sugar in our diets. Sugar is not inherently bad for you – it’s the amount and how frequently you eat it that matters. Too much sugar will lead to weight gain – plain and simple. However, what is really causing concern is the relationship sugar has with the dramatic rise in people developing type II diabetes, fatty livers and is a major contributory factor in the accelerated growth of obesity.

It is believed that over 60% of British people are overweight or obese and over 3.8 million people are diagnosed as diabetic with a further 850,000 undiagnosed cases. This is a massive drain on the resources of the NHS – it is estimated that over 10% of the entire NHS budget is spent on treating the complications associated with Type II diabetes with this figure likely to rise to 17% by 2035 at a cost of £16.8bn. 4/5 of NHS diabetes budget is spent on treating conditions associated with diabetes that in many cases could have been prevented.

The recent warnings about sugar are not hype. The relationship between sugar and diabetes is fact. The rise of obesity & type II diabetes is pandemic – it is and will continue to be the biggest issue facing the health of our nation and our NHS. The consumption of excess calories (be it through sugar or not) leads to weight gain and ill health – fact. Type II Diabetes causes many health issues which are largely preventable. We don’t have to become a victim. Sugar is not addictive in the ways of drugs, alcohol and tobacco – we’ve just got used to having way too much in our diets and into the mindset of thinking our bodies need a sugar fix for energy. What should be regarded as a treat has become a diet staple.

Quick guide - the Government is considering the sugar RDA and is considering halving what was previously advised making it no more than 35g for men (7 teaspoons) and 25g for women (5 teaspoons). This is referring to all added sugar and not just the kind you add to tea and coffee – it’s the stuff hidden in the processed foods we buy, loaded into soft drinks, snacks and low fat products. Bear in mind that a small pot of Low Fat yogurt contains an average 11g of sugar, 1/2 a tin of tomato soup has 9.5g of sugar and a 30g serving of Crunchy Nut cornflakes has a whopping 17g of sugar!

More than 15g of total sugars per 100g is high sugar and 5g of total sugars or less per 100g is low sugar. is Read your labels and beware!!!

YOU have the ability to influence whether or not you become a statistic through making better lifestyle and dietary choices. Keep sweet treats to a minimum, reduce sugary drinks, processed foods and look at the labels – even if you don’t add sugar to food or drinks it’s normally lurking there somewhere!

Focus on the foods you do eat and not those that you can’t or don’t! A diet is not a tool to lose weight, it is the food that makes up what you eat. A weight loss programme is something very different to what you should consider as your diet – your diet is ongoing.

On the 7th December 2013 Bodycare hosted a Charity Rowathon – a 12 hour challenge during which we were endeavouring to row over 1 million meters and raise as much money as possible for the Indee Rose Trust, a Canvey Island based children’s cancer charity.

We are delighted to confirm that not only did we smash this target by rowing 1,004,452 we raised £13,000.00 for charity! This is a truly remarkable amount of money and is the largest amount ever raised through a single event at Bodycare. Moreover, it is the largest amount ever received by the charity from a single event and will make a huge difference to many children’s lives.

We are incredibly proud of the achievements of all of those taking part and thank all of our members for their participation, support and enthusiasm. The generosity and kindness shown is overwhelming and we pay special thanks to the event sponsors and fundraisers.

None of this is possible without our members and as ever we are truly grateful. Thank you for making the event so special. It will live long in the memory of Bodycare and all of those involved.